Question Time: Mariella Frostrup talks about Band Aid
A BBC journalist has fired back at outcry over Band Aid's return, arguing the focus should be on the plight of people in Sudan.
40 years ago, Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof and Midge Ure created a supergroup of music stars to record epic charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? which went on to sell over two million copies worldwide, raising more than $24 million for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia.
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Since then, the charity has released Band Aid II and a new version of the single with contemporary artists to commemorate the 20th, 30th, and now 40th anniversaries of the original.
The latest remix of the first three versions, Band Aid 40, has released singer Ed Sheeran has said he did not give permission for his 2014 vocals to be reused and wouldn’t have consented anyway, saying his "understanding of the narrative" behind the charity efforts had changed.
Explaining his stance on the track last week, the hitmaker shared a post by British-Ghanaian rapper Fuse ODG, who claims the song perpetuates "damaging stereotypes" that Africa is plagued by "famine and poverty", which only Western assistance can remedy.
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Sheeran says he wasn't happy with his vocals being used because his 'understanding of the narrative' has changed since. (Image: Getty)
Asked about the row on BBC's Question Time, journalist and presenter Mariella Frostrup, who was one of the PRs working the original event in the 80s, said: "I think that we've learnt alot, and I think there's a huge case for investment in Africa, rather than charitable money being handed out.
Frostrup said: "I think we failed badly with the promise of 0.7% and then not living up to it, in terms of international development money."
The Labour government has said it will restore "development spending at the level of 0.7% per cent of gross national income as soon as fiscal circumstances allow” after it was cut to 0.5% in 2021 by the Tories, citing the need for post-pandemic belt tightening.
"But ultimately, there's a famine in Sudan at the moment, there are children starving to death," she continued.
Frostrup said she had been to many of the places where the money had been invested "and kids come up and say they wouldn't be alive" if it hadn't been for what Geldof had done.
"And I'd rather his legacy than Ed Sheeran's worrying what he's going to say at dinner parties," she added, "When actually there are children starving and they need the money."
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Frostrup insisted the focus should be on the the suffering in Sudan. (Image: BBC)
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Speaking to The Sunday Times, Geldof, 73, said: “This little pop song has kept millions of people alive,” listing the work the charity continues to do, including healthcare and education.
“Why would Band Aid scrap feeding thousands of children dependent on us for a meal? Why not keep doing that? Because of an abstract wealthy-world argument, regardless of its legitimacy?”
Asked by Lorraine Kelly on her ITV show, whether he found Sheeran’s comments “irksome”, he said: “No, genuinely not. The necessary part of this is that opinions have changed over the years.
"Sentiment changes, sensibility changes, opinion changes over 40 years – and that’s correct, you can’t stay static.
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“You’ve got to find different ways of combating these issues and different ways of talking about them and what we’re celebrating here is – none of these arguments would get any oxygen if Band Aid didn’t come out,” he added.